


In the Cold

by PurpleArrowzandLeather



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Hurt Loki, Ptotective Thor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 07:41:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14807124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleArrowzandLeather/pseuds/PurpleArrowzandLeather
Summary: Loki is injured in a fight and Thor has to get him home when they are cut off from the Bifrost.





	In the Cold

**Author's Note:**

> We're pretending that Ragnarok (the event, not the movie) never happened, so Asgard is still intact, but Odin is dead and Thor lost his hammer. (They killed Hela some other way, though I'd have no idea how). I know that's pushing it, but hey, this is a Loki story after all. He does what he wants, and so will I.

          It was meant to be a diplomatic mission to Jotunhiem. Loki and Thor had landed on the freezing surface of the planet with no issue, Loki hiding a shudder of revulsion at being back here. Thor can't really blame him. 

          "Worry not, brother. It's in and out. Simple."

          "Thor, every time you say something like that, it becomes less simple." Loki grumbles, his two shocks of leather flipping around his legs in the wind. "Let's just get on with it."

          Loki and Thor walk, helping each other over the rocky terrain when it gets too steep to go alone. Thor hops up onto a rocky outcropping and puts a hand down for Loki. Loki grabs on, scrabbling against the surface for purchase while Thor lifts him up. He crawls to his feet, picking his way up the next rock face. 

          "You certainly made a mess here, brother." Thor says, chuckling. 

          Loki forces a smile onto his face. "Was I the only one?"

          Thor reaches out to grab Loki's hands when he slips. "No." Loki winces as Thor pulls him onto a flat surface, looking at his scraped palms. "They aren't bleeding." Thor says. "Please be careful, brother."

          "I'm always careful."

          They get moving, the heavy peace offering over Thor's shoulder clinking against his armor. When they reach the council 'chambers', the still air is eerie. Loki rubs at his arms, his hackles raising. 

          "What do you hope to accomplish, Asgardians?" a voice snarling, echoing around the open space. 

          "We wish to garner peace with Jotunheim once more." Thor says.

          There are heavy steps and three jotuns step out to meet them. "That bridge burned when the Bifrost was set to destroy our planet."

          "There was... a mistake." Thor says slowly. "It was not the will of the Allfather."

          "No?" the middle one growls, seemingly the leader. "Then why was it done?"

          "Laufey tried to murder the Allfather in his bed chamber." Loki growls. "I would know."

          "Why?"

          Loki's hands twitch at his side. "Because I was there."

          "And what happened to Laufey after that?"

          Loki rubs his wrist nervously. "I am not proud of it, nor do I regret it. I killed him to protect the Allfather."  _That's mostly the truth anyway._

          Ice travels down the leader's arm and forms a dagger. "And why should we trust you now after you murdered our king?"

          "I was defending our own." Loki hisses, standing his ground. "We brought a peace offering."

          "What could you possibly offer us in turn for the deception and murder that nearly wrought the destruction of this world?"

          "A way to repair it." Loki says, pulling the capsule from Thor's leather bag. "With this, your planet will be restored to its condition before the Bifrost struck."

          "And how are we to know that it won't kill everyone left while you are swept safely away by your gatekeeper? I think it unwise." He presses the tip of the dagger in his hand up under Loki's chin and Loki shuts his eyes as his skin turns blue. The leader staggers back. "What sorcery is this?"

          Loki shakes his head. "I did not want it to come to this." he looks up at him, his eyes turning from green to red. "I am Loki Laufeyson, heir to the throne of Jotunheim, and to Asgard."

          "You killed your father, your king? And yet you expect us to trust you?" the two bodyguards snarl. "I think not. Did you kill Odin as well?"

          Thor steps in. "I am Thor Odinson, and king of Asgard. I will not stand here and let you insult my brother's honor."

          "Your brother?" the leader scoffs. "He still claims you, half-breed? I am surprised he did not mark you a beast and kill you himself. He certainly had no problem killing everyone else on this world."

          Loki holds out the capsule. "Take this, use it, and we will leave you in peace."

          "You will not leave at all."

          The leader gestures with two fingers and Loki stumbles as two daggers of ice burrow into his leg. Loki drops the capsule and Thor drags him back. Frost Giants leap from their hiding places and Thor growls, energy crackling around his fingertips. Something skims his cheek and he winces, blood trailing down his face. 

          "There. Your gatekeeper cannot reach you now."

          "Thor." Loki hisses. "They're enchanted. Heimdall can't see us."

          Two more daggers fly and embed themselves in Loki's shoulders. Thor's fingers crackle with energy and the air smells of ozone. "Stop! We did not come here to fight!" 

          Loki groans, trying to pull the icicles from his skin. They won't let go. The sharp barbs freeze into his skin and Loki grimaces, putting his back against Thor's. 

          "We cannot fight a war, but we can kill you." the leader growls, ice flying from his hands and peppering Loki's armor. Thor takes a few to the arms, but the current flowing through his skin keeps them from doing too much damage. 

          Loki takes an icicle to the stomach and he flips around, flinging his own daggers around in a circle and taking out a whole ring of enemies. The leader is unharmed by his assault. 

          "Thor, we need to run!"

          "I agree. We did not come here for slaughter."

          Loki has to hit the deck as an icy bomb explodes. Thor is still unfazed, but ice stabs through Loki's leather and armor and he groans. Thor helps him off the ground, clearing a path. 

          "Go!"

          Loki grits his teeth, running through the gap with Thor right behind him. Or at least he thought Thor was right behind him. When Loki turns, Thor is surrounded. Loki has the high ground, but he stumbles to one knee, his bad leg giving out. The icicles feel like they're freezing his insides.

          "Thor!" Loki yells. 

          "Loki, go! I'll catch up!"

          Loki turns to do as Thor commanded, but he runs straight into another jotun. 

          "You're not fleeing, are you, cowardly prince?"

          Loki snarls. "My king ordered me. I am no coward." he jabs a blade into the jotun's chest. 

          Just as Loki staggers again, Thor is up under his arm. "We have to find somewhere to hide."

          They lift into the air and Loki tries to stifle the urge to wretch at the free-falling feeling in his chest. When they land, Thor helps Loki to sit on the sheltered cliff. He looks Loki over, brushing away a trail of blood from Loki's temple. 

          "Are you all right?"

          Loki opens his mouth to answer before snapping his jaw shut as the pain in his leg and in his back intensifies. Thor prods at one of the ice chunks experimentally and Loki stifles a scream, Thor's hand clamping gently over his mouth before he can make too much noise. 

          "What's wrong?" Thor whispers, letting Loki breathe through the pain. 

          "They won't come out. They're frozen in place."

          Thor gently helps Loki lie back and Loki groans. There's ice sticking out of his leather, and Thor can't do anything to help him. The spike of ice in his stomach is by far the most troubling. Loki curls reflexively as pain shoots through his midsection and Thor pushes him to lie flat again. 

          "Easy."

          Loki lets go of a long breath, nodding. He shuts his eyes and Thor sighs, the cold wind next to nothing against the current flowing through his veins. He watches over Loki for three more hours while he rests, keeping a close eye on his wounds. He shivers, his leather unhelpful in the bitter cold.

          When Loki rouses, Thor keeps him from sitting up, quietly reminding him of his injuries. 

          "I told you it wouldn't be simple."

          Thor chuckles while Loki glances around. 

          "Where are we?"

          "The same ridge we've been hiding on since you fell asleep."

          "We need to move." Loki hisses, trying to get up. Something is wrong.

          Thor can tell that he's not going to give up. "Can you even walk?"

          Loki grips the icicle in his stomach and grabs Thor's hand. "I need you to melt the shaft of ice. There's a puncture in my stomach."

          "What? What if-"

          "Don't 'what if'." Loki snaps. "Just do it. The electricity should cauterize it anyway. You have no reason to worry."

          "All right, brother. You had better be right about this."

          Thor breaks the spike off as close to Loki's skin as he dares, shaking his head before melting through the ice with his fingers. A strangled scream escapes Loki before he clamps his jaw shut, breathing heavily. His fingers curl at his sides and he grips a part of Thor's cape. 

          "All finished, brother. I suggest you never ask me to do something like that again."

          "It's that or I die, Thor."

          Thor sighs, patting Loki's shoulder and helping him to his feet. Loki nearly crashes as soon as he's standing on his own and Thor catches him. 

          "You're not walking anywhere, brother."

          "There's a-" Loki grimaces, leaning on Thor. "There's a way out of here."

          "How?"

          Loki gives him a look.

          "Another of your paths, Loki? Is walking through one safe?"

          Loki huffs. "It's a bit more dangerous than flying, but not overly awful."

          Loki shivers, and Thor unclips his cape to wrap it around Loki's shoulders. "Come on then. Up you go."

          Thor hefts Loki up onto his back, carefully avoiding his injuries. Loki shudders now, whether out of pain or cold, Thor isn't sure, but he's getting worse. 

          Once he carries him out into the open, he glances over his shoulder at Loki's tired green eyes. "Which way?"

          Loki looks around before pointing out into the blizzard, most likely towards some landmark all the way across the craggy plain. 

          "Are you sure?"

          Loki nods, hiding his face from the biting wind. Thor adjusts his grip for a long walk, doubting Loki's resilience against a long flight and a hard landing. Loki tenses for a moment, but is otherwise okay.

          "Not to worry, brother. I'll get us out of this."

          Loki stays just awake enough to give directions, but Thor can hear his labored pants of pain as he gets more exhausted. He slides down a rock face and finds a sheltered place to rest for a little while. It'll be difficult to get back topside, but Thor would rather have a difficult climb than have his brother die.

          The cave is small, just big enough to stand up in, but it'll be enough. When he puts Loki down, his dark emerald eyes survey the room. 

          "We stopped." he says simply.

          "Couldn't very well have you falling asleep and getting us lost, now could I?"

          "They will be searching for us." 

          "I know, but you're exhausted. We wouldn't have made it much further anyway."

          Loki bites his bottom lip, gripping his thigh. Thor crouches next to him, pulling his hand away from the daggers of ice still embedded in his skin. 

          "You're bleeding." Thor says, drawing Loki's attention to the wound. "I think your jotun blood might be helping."

          Loki huffs. "I don't think I like how bleeding is a good sign, not a bad one."

          Thor settles down next to him, leaning against the cold wall. "It could be-"

          "Don't you dare say it. You know how bad luck follows when you say things like that."

          Thor chuckles, tugging his cape a little further over Loki's shoulder. Loki leans against Thor's shoulder and Thor takes his hands, trying to rub some warmth into them. Thor takes a short nap while Loki sleeps, not wanting to leave him unguarded for very long. The wind has changed directions when he wakes up, snow sweeping into the mouth of the little den. He calms the winds a little bit, but not enough to make the jotuns suspicious should they be nearby. Loki is still shivering when Thor decides that it's time to move.

          "Loki, wake up."

          His eyes crack open just far enough for Thor to know he's listening and he picks Loki up. Loki wraps around him, coughing weakly. 

          "Loki, I think if you weren't jotun, you might be dead by now."

          "Hmm."

          Thor manages to get back to the surface without much issue, but when he turns in the direction Loki indicates, there's a Frost Giant standing not thirty feet away. Loki is shivering so hard, he's lucky his teeth aren't chattering, but Thor still whispers a warning to him. 

          Loki peers over Thor's shoulder. "He can't see us."

          Thor stays stock still while the jotun passes by and Loki's breath catches in his throat, pain lancing down his spine. Thor adjusts his grip on Loki and starts off in the other direction. Thor's hand grows slick and he looks down at Loki's leg, blood flowing freely around the daggers. They appear to be shrinking. He travels for what feels like miles before turning his head to look at Loki.

          "How much father, brother?" 

          "Not far." Loki murmurs, his face still buried in Thor's shoulder to block the wind.

          Thor nods, Loki's coughing pushing him to go a bit faster. It still seems like a long ways, and Thor is starting to wonder how Loki still knows where he's going.

          "Stop." Loki breathes, pushing himself up a little so that he can see. "It's here somewhere."

          "Don't move, brother. I'll find it."

          Loki pants against Thor's back, his lips a bit blue. 

          "Got it."

          Thor slips into a cleft between two rocks and the passage shines in front of his feet, the colors of the rainbow bridge all mingled together. He can see why it's so easy to get lost. 

          "Which way, Loki?"

          He doesn't get an answer and he turns. Loki's eyes are closed and his weight hangs heavily in Thor's arms. 

          "Come on, brother. Norns know I have no idea where I'm going." 

          When he still doesn't get an answer, he gently puts Loki down and looks him over. He briefly goes outside and melts a bit of snow, carefully getting Loki to swallow it. He groans, but doesn't stir. 

          Looking around, Thor doesn't like it. "We can't stay here."

          Naturally, Loki doesn't answer. Thor sits down in front of him, pulling his arms over his shoulders and grabbing onto his legs. Once he's on his feet, Thor cautiously walks into the passage. Every tunnel that leads off has Thor asking himself which one is the right one. He explores slowly, giving Loki time to come around if he's going to. Thor doesn't find a tunnel to Asgard, but he does see a familiar spot on Vaneheim. 

          Thor shakes his head. If the people on Vaneheim see Loki, there will be many questions. 

          "Thor?" Loki croaks. "Where are we?"

          "Thank the Norns. Loki, we're in the passage."

          Loki coughs, lifting his head and holding onto Thor to take some of the weight off of his arms. He glances around. "I haven't been in this branch for years."

          "But?"

          "But, the entrance to Asgard should be one of the next three tunnels."

          Thor can feel the energy under his feet, and it's starting to make him a bit nervous. 

          "Don't worry, Thor. Reality only buckles here if you do something incredibly stupid."

          "You say that like we haven't done some pretty stupid things in our lifetime."

          "Who is 'we'?"

          Thor chuckles, just as Loki asks him to stop. 

          "This one."

          Thor heads into the tunnel and isn't disappointed when he sees the steep drop-off of rock that Loki had shown them with the boat the last time. How he'll get down is a mystery.

          "Do you think Heimdall could hear us if we called?"

          "It's worth a shot." Loki mumbles.

          "Heimdall, I don't know if you can hear me, but we could use a lift." He doesn't get a response, but he's not really surprised. "Even if he can hear us, he's probably pretty confused as to why he's hearing us close to home instead of halfway across the galaxy."

          "True enough." Loki huffs. "We need to get down somehow."

          "I don't suppose you're strong enough to get us to the bridge, at least?"

          "I could try. If I miss, we'll end up in the water and probably go over the falls."

          Thor chuckles. "Then I suggest you don't miss."

          They disappear, and Thor is very pleased when they reappear inside the Bifrost port. Heimdall doesn't hear them come up behind him an Thor speaks up.

          "Heimdall."

          He turns, the corners of his lips lifting ever so slightly. "My king. I was beginning to fear you had been lost. How did the mission go?"

          "Awfully." Loki grumbles. 

          "I saw you were struck, but then you disappeared from my sight. Shall I send for some horses?"

          "Yes. My brother will be in need of attention when we reach the palace."

          Heimdall chuckles. "More so than usual?"

          Loki scowls, but Thor can tell he's falling asleep again. The horses arrive shortly after he does and Loki is in no condition to ride his. He rides in front of Thor instead, one hand holding Loki upright while the other steers. Once they reach the healing room, nurses crowd around and Thor settled him onto a table. 

          "Eir?" Loki asks. 

          "She's on her way, brother."

          Thor looks up as the doors open and greets Eir with a smile. She briefly smiles back before turning to Loki. 

          "You, young man, are lucky to be alive."

          Loki has the courtesy to look scolded. "So Thor said."

          "You two are supposed to be responsible-" Thor starts to laugh until she points a finger at him. " _Especially_ you, my king."

          He doesn't stop smiling, and Eir rolls her eyes. A most disrespectful thing to do right in front of the king.

          "Luckily, my king, your brother will be fine, despite your reckless behavior." 

          "Technically, the jotuns attacked us." Loki points out and Thor pats his shoulder. 

          "See? Thank you, brother."

          "I think you two have had enough adventures for one week." she makes the other nurses leave before she asks what she wants to know. "Will Jotunheim be a problem?"

          "They can't mount an attack, since they have no army, but they are most definitely not our allies."

          Loki grumbles. "Not that we didn't try."

          "You could lay claim to the throne if you wanted." Thor chuckles. "Not that you ever would."

          Loki is silent. 

          "Don't fret, brother. I will not suggest it again."

          He relaxes and Eir makes Thor leave so that Loki can get some rest without Thor's hovering. Given the circumstances of their relationship with Jotunheim, it really could have been worse. 

          Loki drifts to sleep with Thor's previous comment on his tongue, and he's certain Eir wants to cut out his tongue for it. "It could have been worse."


End file.
